


1985

by Shoeless_Sam



Series: September 17th [1]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alive Gabriel (Supernatural), Alive John Winchester, Alive Mary Winchester, Amelia Novak is Castiel's mom, Amelia is dead, Amelia isn't mentioned by name, Baby Sam Winchester, Big Brother Gabriel, Castiel is a Novak, Castiel is a Sweetheart, Castiel is a child, Castiel's Nickname is Cas, Child Dean Winchester, Chuck Shurley is Castiel's Parent, Chuck Shurley is Not God, Chuck Shurley is a Novak, Dean WInchester gives Castiel his nickname, Dean Winchester is Loved, Dean Winchester is younger than Castiel, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Gabriel is Castiel's big brother, Gabriel is a Novak, Gabriel is not okay, Gabriel loves his little brother, Good Parent Chuck Shurley, He's 5, Human Castiel, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, John Winchester & Mary Winchester Live, John Winchester is actually a good parent, John Winchester's A+ Parenting, John works with Bobby, Kid Castiel (Supernatural), Kid Castiel/Kid Dean Winchester, Kid Dean Winchester, Kid Fic, LITERALLY, Lots and lots of tags, M/M, Mary is a Good Person, Mary is a good parent, Mary is a stay at home mom, Mentioned Bobby Singer - Freeform, Mentioned John Winchester - Freeform, New Kid Castiel, No Smut, Parent Chuck Shurley, Sadness, Sam Winchester is like 2, Wholesome, Writer Chuck Shurley, all fluff, but he thinks he's like a God to his characters in his novel, castiel is not a great neighbor, don't know what the ending will be yet, fluff until... later, for now, gabriel is human, he tried to steal fruits, he's a child, hope I covered everything, moving houses, next door neighboors, not even 6 yet, only a little, oops it's late and I'm tired, sammy - Freeform, september 17th, so he's just being carried
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-01
Updated: 2018-10-01
Packaged: 2019-07-23 13:02:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,241
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16159499
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shoeless_Sam/pseuds/Shoeless_Sam
Summary: September 17th, 1985.A series of some fortunate and some unfortunate events that led Castiel Novak to steal strawberries from Dean Winchester's garden.---Chapter 1 of the "September 17th" series; a story that takes place on Sept. 17, in different years.





	1985

**Author's Note:**

> A little AU I'm working on in-between chapters of my longer fanfic. So there is no editor or Beta and all mistakes are mine.
> 
> This story takes place on September 17th, but each chapter takes place in a new year. (If it seems confusing, don't worry! It will make sense when you read)
> 
> All wholesome content! (For now...)

_ September 17, 1985 _

 

The Novak family had just moved in to the yellow, two-story house on Orchard Avenue in Lawrence, Kansas. Chuck Novak, a novelist and single stay at home father, had moved his family of three across the country after his wife’s passing. His children, Gabriel and Castiel more than happy to travel. They were named after angels at their father’s asking; Chuck always admired the bible, thought of his novels as his own little world. His characters weren’t always lucky, but he was their cruel, capricious God.

Gabriel was 12 at the time, and a buzz of energy. The kid acted like he had just ate a whole candy store. At the time, his energy and tricks were a little faded -- he was a mess after his mother’s death. It was cancer, it wasn’t sudden but no one thought that it would be that soon. They had been really close, she had taught him about the importance of smiling and keeping the childish spark in him. 

Castiel was 5, turning 6 the very next day. But like his brother he wasn’t much in the mood for celebrating. No one was. After his mother’s death he was never the same. The hope and laughter in his eyes turning cold and hard. Way too serious for any 5 year old. 

Even so, Castiel knew he had to at least get Gabriel laughing again. Once he did, the family would get back into their groove. While his dad and brother brought the boxes into the house, Castiel snuck to one of Gabe’s boxes labeled ‘Books’. He knew exactly what he was looking for -- a black, spiral notebook that held all of Gabe’s pranks. A notebook he had filled out with every idea and executed plan he’d done. Castiel had only gotten a few looks at it before, but he knew what he was looking for. 

Gabe never could figure out the mechanics of it exactly, and one time a fail almost caught the neighbor’s cat on fire. But the risk was worth it. If Castiel could figure it out, it had to snap Gabriel back to himself.

With the notebook in hand, Castiel walked to their backyard. It was a nice yard, enough trees for shade, but enough sun for playing in the water once it got hot again. Castiel flipped through the pages, taking a moment to land on the correct one. It was simple enough; meant to convince someone that a ghost was haunting the house. It was a complex plan with multiple steps. Gabe planned to make a robotic slingshot to throw pebbles onto a roof or window. Castiel realized it would be easier and less dangerous to just build a normal slingshot -- and no fires, hopefully. 

Castiel didn’t have any of his brother’s materials, so he naively thought to look around his backyard. Castiel was smarter than most of his kindergarten class, but he didn’t really know how to build a slingshot. He started off by gathering some sticks. Castiel walked to the bushes, seeing if any twigs or branches had broken off. He found a couple thin sticks, but nothing that would really work. As Castiel searched for materials, he came across a tear in the fence. The fence that led to next door.

Next door was another two story house, but appeared much smaller than the one Castiel’s father had bought. It was painted a light gray color that gave it a very dismal mood. Castiel didn’t know it at the time, but the Winchester family had taken up residence many years before. They were a family of four; John and Mary, and their sons Dean and Sam. John Winchester worked at Bobby Singer’s automotive a few blocks away, but always made time on the weekends to spend time with his boys. Mary was a school teacher, who had recently taken off time to watch her sons instead of sending them off to some preschool and kindergarten that was just glorified babysitting. 

Dean was the older brother, still only 5 years old. He was the best big brother anyone could ask for, according to Sam who was only 2 and could barely run straight. Dean was good at sports, while Sam was the pro at reading and writing, but Dean would never leave his little brother out.

The hole peaked Castiel’s interest, and the slingshot plan long forgotten. He ventured into the other garden, snagging his blue shirt on the fence on his way. The other garden was messier than his; toys littered about, the grass overgrown. But it was more welcome than any backyard Castiel had ever had. A strawberry plant caught his attention, and he didn’t hesitate before plucking a juicy strawberry off.

Castiel wasn’t able to eat any of it before a voice caught his attention, “You should say hi before you try to steal from someone.” Castiel turned to see a green-eyed little boy standing in the doorway to the house. He was holding up his hands like a gun, pointing at Castiel. He had light-brown hair that was cut short, and a light smatter of freckles on his cheeks. “Who are you?”

“I’m Castiel. My Dada just moved my brother and me here.” Castiel looked down at the strawberry in his hands. “Hi.” He took a big bite of the strawberry after he had followed the boy’s requirements.

“You’re a strange boy. And you have a strange name.” Castiel watched as the boy came closer, picking his own strawberry to eat. Before taking a bite, the boy started trying out Castiel’s name, “Cast -- Cassss… Castile -- elle? I’m just gonna call you Cas.”

Castiel had never been given a nickname before. Sometimes Gabe called him Cassie, but he always preferred being called Castiel. Like his father had wanted. But somehow, right now, with the green-eyed boy calling him ‘Cas’, it all felt right. So he nodded, picking another strawberry off the plant and throwing the remains of the old one on the ground. 

“I’m Dean Winchester,” Dean gave Cas his best smile, his face covered in strawberry remains. Cas laughed, pointing to Dean’s face. “What? Was so funny?”

“You have stwabewwy on your mouth!” Both boys ended up in a full-on laughter. The laughter caught Mary’s attention who came out with Sam in her arms. She laughed for a moment before the realization of not inviting any little boy to play with Dean washed over her.

Mary talked to Castiel and figured out he was part of the family that had just moved next door. Dean demanded Cas stay and play, but Mary convinced him to settle for walking Castiel back home with her and schedule a proper playdate another day.

Chuck was glad Mary had found his son, not some guy in a van. Gabe and Chuck had become worried when they couldn’t find Castiel for lunch. Chuck thanked the woman, and gave Castiel a long lecture about telling him before going anywhere. Castiel agreed and left it at that.

After dinner, when almost everything was either put away, Chuck told the kids to go to bed. Castiel and Gabe each had their own rooms, but on Castiel’s request Gabe allowed his younger brother to sleep with him. “But only for tonight, Castiel,” Gabriel told him as they were falling asleep.

Castiel nodded, turning over. After a few seconds, Castiel’s little voice broke the silence. “Can you start calling me ‘Cas’?”

**Author's Note:**

> Hey!! I hope you enjoyed this. I have no release schedule for this, but I'm trying to post a new chapter every Monday.
> 
> Make sure to comment and leave kudos. It will really help me pop these out faster. And don't forget to bookmark, so you know when the next chapter come out!
> 
> To see more of moi, follow @shoeless_sam on Instagram! I post edits every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. (Photo and Video!) I also post updates and news related to this story on there.
> 
> Have a great day!! :D


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